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cutting out the gunports


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Hello there 

   I am in the process of cutting out the second level of gun ports on my model space Victory and found that  the x-actor blades are not cutting to good even being new the instruction say to cut diagonally  to the center hole and dig out the rest and to leave enough wood to sand to the right dimensions which would be 12mm X12mm,  but it is taking way to long my question is there any super sharp blades that would cut thought balsa or what ever the planks are made of to fit a #11 handle 

 will scalpel blades work better I know they are extremely sharp any suggestions  would be fine thank you 

                                                     Ronald 

IMG_0900 gunport holes 1.JPG

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Other than to open each port while planking, the only other way I've seen or heard about is to use a Dremel (or similar) with a small bit and drill the opening by making a lot (the more the better) of holes just to the inside of the port.  Then use your knife, small saw to shape the port.  It is a time consuming process but not nearly as bad as tying ratlines.  :).   

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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3 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Other than to open each port while planking, the only other way I've seen or heard about is to use a Dremel (or similar) with a small bit and drill the opening by making a lot (the more the better) of holes just to the inside of the port.  Then use your knife, small saw to shape the port.  It is a time consuming process but not nearly as bad as tying ratlines.  :).   

This is my method, too.  It works well.  Just take your time and cut carefully.

FD466157-CC52-4955-9707-D792ED268DA6.jpeg

Edited by GrandpaPhil
Added picture, clarified

Building: 1:64 HMS Revenge (Victory Models plans)

1:64 Cat Esther (17th Century Dutch Merchant Ships)
 

On the building slip: 1:72 French Ironclad Magenta (original shipyard plans)

 

On hold: 1:98 Mantua HMS Victory (kit bash), 1:96 Shipyard HMS Mercury

 

Favorite finished builds:  1:60 Sampang Good Fortune (Amati plans), 1:200 Orel Ironclad Solferino, 1:72 Schooner Hannah (Hahn plans), 1:72 Privateer Prince de Neufchatel (Chapelle plans), Model Shipways Sultana, Heller La Reale, Encore USS Olympia

 

Goal: Become better than I was yesterday

 

"The hardest part is deciding to try." - me

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The best solution because you use it everywhere is a better option than X-Acto. That's a real knife with an Rockwell hardness of 62+ and proper sharpening stones and then you have something that can be made much sharper than X-Acto blades and it will hold that edge orders of magnitude longer. And sharpening blades is neither that difficult nor very time-consuming once you get the hang of it. Pick up a copy of The Perfect Edge by Ron Hock if you don't already know how to sharpen things. And then go to his store and buy a good detail knife, in my opinion he makes the best blades outside Japan.

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Ronald,

Here are some toothed blades that will fit an exacto handle.

www.hobbylinc.com/zona-33-replacement-blades-5-hobby-and-model-knife-blade-39-925

 

Here is a small hand saber saw that might also work.

www.hobbylinc.com/zona-saber-saw-set-hobby-razor-saw-35-450

Tom

Edited by toms10
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